Today’s Christians find that their sacred scriptures, the Old and New Testaments, are largely foreign to them. They respect and even venerate them; they are convinced that the Bible is divinely inspired, but all those texts written so long ago no longer correspond to their mentality. Why? Because the founders of the great religions, the Initiates of old, spoke for their own epoch. Even though there are a certain number of truths which remain valid for all eternity, they still need to be adapted to the mentality of each epoch. To understand them literally is liable to make them seem incomprehensible, even horrifying. Jesus came to prolong the teaching of Moses. He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” If a religion is to remain alive, it needs to take into account the fact that mentalities evolve, for that evolution is part of God’s plan.

A religion is simply a form through which the spirit manifests, and no form remains forever the same. Christianity, originating in the Middle East, was marked from the start by certain aspects of Greek and Latin culture grafted onto elements inherited from Judaism, and these in turn bore the influence of the religions of neighboring countries: Egypt, Mesopotamia, and so on. A religion does not spring up out of nowhere. It always contains elements of others that have preceded it and gradually changes as it spreads out from its place of origin. Thus, when African, American and Asian peoples were converted to Christianity they incorporated certain elements of their own culture into the religion. Whether we like it or not, religions change. Even though the sacred texts are always the same, the gap between what people read and the way they think and behave becomes ever greater. Evolution is the law of life and it is not rational to persist in perpetuating the external forms of a religion

Religion is, first and foremost, a science based on the knowledge of human beings as created by God. We can say, therefore, that the basis for religion is to be found in man himself. In creating human beings God put his seal on them and now there is no way for them to shake off that imprint, it is written into their very construction. From this point of view it would be true to say that human beings are not free. They cannot break away from that imprint, from the pattern on which they are built. On the other hand, they have been endowed with great freedom to manifest the divine predestination they bear within them. It is this that explains the diversity of religions which, depending on the time and place of their appearance, have taken such rich and varied forms.

If they are to understand what true religion is, human beings need to draw closer to the light, heat and life of the sun. They need, in other words, to seek the wisdom that illuminates and solves problems, the selfless love that embellishes, encourages and consoles, and the subtle, spiritual life that makes us active, dynamic and audacious in order to build the Kingdom of God and his righteousness on earth. No-one can destroy this religion. Those who attempt to do so destroy themselves by restricting themselves. Once the understanding of universal religion penetrates men’s minds the whole organization of life will become universal. There will be no more barriers between people, no more national boundaries, no more wars. By getting to know the sun in its sublime manifestations of light, warmth and life, human beings are drawing closer and closer to the Deity and they will transform the earth into a paradise in which all live as members of one family. We must all accept the universal, fraternal religion taught by the sun

Many people abandon religion because they think that scientific discoveries cancel out or contradict the truths of the Gospels. No, they simply haven’t understood: it is just the opposite. The discoveries of science underscore the truths of the Gospels—which are the truths of initiatic science, and neither scientists nor religious people understand this. The truth is that there is no contradiction between science and religion: they work together… and with art, for the three are linked. The role of science is to bring light to human beings; the role of religion is to contribute warmth, and the role of art is to contribute activity. And since they are linked and work together in nature, in life and in human beings, they should not be separated.